Sins of the Sires
by Michael Con
Summary: Buffy's second death called Dana. During early S7/S4, Buffy and a newly souled Spike go to L.A. to find her after she has escaped the hospital. Angel, just released from the steel coffin in the ocean, does everything he can to help, while also dealing with Connor. (Planning it to mostly be a rewrite of Angel S4.)
1. Chapter 1

Sins of the Sires  
by Michael Con

Buffy's second death called Dana. During early S7/S4, Buffy and a newly souled Spike go to L.A. to find her after she has escaped the hospital. Angel, just released from the steel coffin in the ocean, does everything he can to help, while also dealing with Connor. (Planning it to mostly be a rewrite of Angel S4.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: In this story, the First is not trying to open the Hellmouth and Jasmine does not exist. As a consequence, Cordelia did not disappear at the end of season 3. Like Fred and Gunn, she has been looking for Angel, not knowing Connor sank him in the ocean. Also, Spike won't be as crazy in the beginning because the First is not haunting him. That would be fun, but too tedious for my purposes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
In the city of angels, a girl in white dreams the deaths of the dead. Every night she takes their place, dying for those who've already died. Useless martyrdom by monsters. One day she wakes up and wears the masks of the dead so that the monsters can't touch her. Then she kills them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
[Scene begins after "Beneath You"]

Late afternoon, the phone rings in the Summer's house.

While tying a trash bag, Buffy yells, "Can anyone get that? Anybody?" With summer over and Dawn in school, she is not used to being in the house alone. She rushes towards the phone and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Buffy? It's Giles."

"Giles! I haven't heard from you guys in a month. How are you?"

"I'm fine." His voice sounds unsettled.

"How's Willow. Is she ready to come back yet?"

"No, unfortunately. She's suffered what might be called a relapse, for lack of a better word."

"What? What happen."

"It's nothing to worry about, Buffy. These things happen. Willow is in good hands, and the people here have seen worse."

"Worse? Any of them try to end the world?"

"Well, there is a man named Jerry who almost made London a crater. He doesn't talk much anymore. Willow just isn't ready to come home, especially considering it's over a hellmouth."

"Oh, right. It would be like a junky in a stash house."

Giles pauses over the metaphor then replies, "Uh, yes. Um, Buffy, I'm sorry to say Willow is not the reason, the only reason I called."

She's leans her hip on the counter top, visible with slight disappointment. "Of course. I should have guessed that? Well, what terrible evil is slouching towards Sunnydale?"

"Not Sunnydale, Los Angeles."

She pauses a moment, immediately wishing she could hide that gap of silence. "Is Angel ok?"

"As far as I know, yes. It's not him, it's another Slayer."

"Another slayer." The idea causes connotations of Faith, then Kendra, then Faith. "Has something happened to Faith?"

"No Faith is alive." Buffy feels relief she doesn't understand. "After... you jumped another slayer was called."

"Oh." The idea that her death, her release, had drastically affected another person whom she had never met, quickly troubles her, but she didn't give it enough time to sink. She then asks, "So, she's in L.A.?"

"Yes, it's very rare for two slayers of the same generation to be born in the same city. Her name is Dana . The problem is that Dana is mentally unstable. Psychotic, to put it bluntly."

"Great, like I don't have enough crazies around here already."

"What?"

Not wanting to explain Spike she answers, "Nothing, just an exaggeration. What happened to her?"

"I don't know all the details. Her parents were murdered when she was ten, and she was found months later in a catatonic state. She's been at [_] Psychiatric Hospital for the last fourteen years." The name startles Buffy. It is the same place her parents placed her in eight years ago. She let's it goes uncommented. Giles goes on, "Well, until recently. She escaped two nights ago. Murdered two guards in the process."

She remembers the disaster with Faith four years ago, and fears the possibility of repeating it. "Jesus! Well, ok, so what do I do about it? Isn't this the Council's job?"

"The Council doesn't know that she has been called, at least that's what my source tells me. Being twenty-four, they thought Dana was past the age for being called. And they didn't think it was possible for you to activate another potential. There are not many precedents of a Slayer being resurrected twice. "

"Then why haven't you told them."

"I wouldn't trust them with this girl."

Buffy pauses for a moment. "Do you think they'd kill her just to activate a more manageable slayer?"

"Honestly, since it has been four years since they have had control of a slayer, I'm not sure what they would do."

"What am I suppose to do if I find her? Tell her to lie on a couch and talk about her problems? Plus, you said she murdered two guards. Aren't the police be after her?"

"Most likely. All the more reason for you to find her first. The police will not be able to handle her without killing her. Not to mention the casualties in the process."

"Great. And things were relatively light on my side of California."

"Buffy, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you were capable. I'd do it myself, but by the time I got there it would be too late." Giles takes a moment and goes on, "This girl may have killed two men, but she doesn't deserve what's happening to her. She probably still has the mind of a child."

"You're right. Besides, Willow needs you there. I'll start packing and let everyone know where I'm going."

"Good. Also, and you know I don't want to say this, but you could ask Angel's for help. Perhaps he has connections that might be of assistance."

"I was worrying you'd said that."

"I knew you'd be too stubborn to admit it."

She gives the slightest chuckles, only audible from a breath. "Tell Willow I love her, everyone here loves her, and that we can't wait to have her back."

"I will."

"Bye, Giles."

"Buffy, there's one more thing you should know. It's not essential, but I think you ought to."

"What?"

"Few years ago I learned that the reason your first watcher was so late in finding you was because the Council was unsure if you were to be the next slayer, or another girl they thought was more probable. Dana was that other girl."

She thinks of the difference that lost time could have made on her life, for better or worse. "So, in a way, it was my calling that kept her from this life, and my death that finally brought her in."

"In some sense, yes."

Obscure feelings haunt the periphery of her mind, but stay at a distance.

"Bye, Giles. I'll call you when something's up."

"Good bye, Buffy. Be careful."

She hangs up and walks up the stairs. The syllables of 'Death is your gift' sound in her mind at every step.


	2. Chapter 2

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
At a harbor, Dana watches the sunset. Her toes tip in the tide. She remembers how she and her mother always watched sunsets together. She remembers how her mother always slept during sunsets. She doesn't remember her mother. She remembers how her father taught her to swim in the ocean. She remembers how her father always dreamed of swimming in the ocean, but her never did. She doesn't remember her father.

She sways her right hand to roll the severed head of a harbor security guard. It falls into the water and dyes the water around her toes red.

Soon Dana feels tired. She remembers falling asleep to her mother's lullabies. She remembers being deaf and falling asleep to the vibrations in her father's chest. Red sunlight fades. Brown rust remains. She remembers brown makes you sleepy. She promises to never sleep again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Buffy walks through the corridors of the new high school basement, a brown paper bag gripped in one hand. Dull lights shade the walls.

"Spike, Spike," she calls out. There is no response.

She comes upon a door that seems familiar from the last time she was down here. She opens it, surprised to find the hinges turn silently. The first sliver reveals only blackness, but as she opens more the hallway light illuminates Spike lying on the concrete floor. He lies curled, eyes closed, clothes and hair disheveled. He mummers, whimpers something undecipherable.

"Spike," she says again, while stretching her free hand to the side and flicking a light switch.

His eyes open to her last call, but then quickly shut against the dull light. He pulls his hands up to cover his face. His hands are covered in burns, tight red skin and several blisters.

Buffy says, "Oh God! Are you burning yourself with a cross again?"

His eyes still closed, he grins slightly and says, "No, I accidentally grabbed a steam pipe."

Oddly relieved she asks, "Why are you down here? What's wrong with a crypt."

"Too quiet." He rolls on his back and opens his eyes to the ceiling. "When I hear voices upstairs they drown out the ones inside."

Buffy stands, staring down at him. She doesn't know how to talk to him anymore. All words seem useless for this situation. And even though useless, she finds herself caring over words as she had never done with him before, worried that they can hurt in ways that weren't possible a year ago. She then realizes that she selfishly misses that freedom of expression that they once shared, for better or worse, and now might never share again.

"Here, I brought you blood from the butcher's shop". She kneels next to him and places the bag on the floor. Spike looks at the bag and then back at her with some surprise. He sits up and carefully opens the bag with his burnt finger tips.

Buffy says, "Here, let me help." She pulls a plastic container out of the bag, takes the lid off, and motions it towards Spike. He holds out his hands, but she places the cup past his hands near his lips. He stares at her again.

"Don't worry it doesn't bother me," she says.

He presses his lips to the edge and she tilts it. The blood spills into his mouth, and she continues to tilt the cup as the flow ebbs until the cup empties.

He says, "Thank you". The voice is confused yet grateful.

She stands and asks, "How have you been eating?"

He looks away shamefully, and after a few moments says, "They should be paying me for it. Not a squeak down here now." She realizes he has been draining rats. He looks back up at her and adds, "but I always wash my mouth out afterwards."

Understanding he doesn't want to talk about it, she goes to something more general, hopefully where he can lead to a topic that he's more comfortable with. "How have you been?"

His tone dulls. "Today's a quiet day. Yesterday, I bashed my head against that wall till the boy with hammered knee caps went away." He gestures to a wall with a large brown stain reaching the floor. Slowly his voice wavers. "First year here, Dru found him practicing football alone at night. Heard him making fake crowd cheers. I can still hear the crack." He makes a small mocking hammering motion. Then with venom in his voice, "And the crowd goes wild, I said." Another swing ending with his hands returning to cover his face. He starts to sob, but quickly bends down and savagely rams his head on the floor.

"Spike!"

He does it again, then she grabs his shoulders before he finishes the third fall. Blood is dripping from his forehead.

He looks her in the eyes and says, "What? You want to know more? How I held him up, made him dangle his feet to kick one more goal, and then..."

"Stop!" She slaps him.

His head jerks back and returns. "Hit me harder!", he demands.

"No."

First, in a begging tone he says, "1971, I found a little black girl crying and scratching at her skin 'cause a white boy she liked called her 'nigger'. I skinned her alive." They both pause. "Nothing?" Then in the accents of a wish, "1989, amputated an anorexic of arms and legs and made her a permanent fixture in her fat neighbor's plumbing. Not enough?" Next, almost like a joke, "Did you know I was a Nazi? Perfect hearing for finding Jews in attics. What, too historical for a dumb bitch like you?" Finally he whispers cruelly, "If I had finished raping you, I was planning on waiting for Dawn and fucking her too."

She kicks him in the face so hard that when he lands he rolls for another seven feet.

He gives something between a groan and a scream then yells, "Not hard enough Slayer!" He stands, leans his back against the wall and closes his eyes.

Buffy shouts, "What the fuck do you want from me? To spank you and call you a bad boy?"

"Well, now that you mention..." His eyes open and look at her. "NO! I want the voices to stop!" He cradles his head in his hands and slides to the floor.

She looks at him for a few moments, and feels pity and obscure guilt. She knows that she can't comprehend what he is going through and she wont pretend. But she also knows that she wont leave him to this.

"Spike, I came to ask if you wanted to help me. When I died, another slayer was called in L.A. Apparently she's a little psycho, escaped a hospital, killed two guards, and now she's wandering around and I gotta find her."

Silence. He just lies on his side facing the wall.

"Do you want to help me?"

Silence.

"Fine." She walks through the doorway, but before closing it she says, "You know, I thought that maybe you could go to Angel. Explain what you've done to yourself, and maybe he'll help you."

At first there's no reply. She turns off the light.

Surrounded by darkness he confesses in a small voice, as if to the wall, "I already tried. He wasn't there. He's never there when you need him. He always leaves."

"Spike." He echoed a thought that had tormented her so many nights that, until then, it had lost its meaning.

He turns over, facing her. "Don't ever tell him I said that."

"Get up Spike. I'm not leaving you alone."

Buffy walks over to him and holds out her hand. Spike grips it, and she helps him up. They walk out.

"And besides," she adds, "I need you to drive."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is night. Buffy's car leaves Sunnydale and merges on the highway towards Los Angeles. Spike is in the driver's seat. His hands, now bandaged, tremble slightly and then he grips the steering wheel to cease the tremors.

Buffy notice's and asks, "Are you going to be ok to drive to L.A.?"

"Yeah." He keeps memories of the things he has done with cars at bay. "So, a new Slayer. That makes three, right?"

"Yep. And only one that isn't homicidal. What are the chances?"

"What's the little lady's name?"

"Dana."

"Dana. So, when you said crazy, are we talking scary hallucinations mixed with slayer strength, or lucidly loves to tortures kittens and puppies."

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm hoping the first one."

"Nice intel you got working for ya. Do you even know where to look?"

"She escaped from [_] Psychiatric Hospital. We'll start there. I'm familiar with the area." He notices a slight change in her tone at the end, but soon disregards it.

"Don't start thinking about using me as a hunting dog. You have any idea how bad that city can smell?"

"Well, you're always using your nose to rudely invade people's privacy, why not make it useful for once."

He doesn't reply, and they lapse into an awkward silence.

Minutes later, Spike breaks the silence with, "So, besides all this, how have you been?"

She looks at him for a moment, surprised at his attempt, in spite of everything, to make small talk.

Defensively, he says, "What?"

"It's nothing. I've been worried about Willow. I wish she'd come home."

"I heard about Red. Went all black when her girl died. Well, wouldn't we all?" He wants to avoid such subjects and quickly shifts with, "How are the rest?"

Understanding the shift, she answers, "Fine, I suppose. Dawn's normal. I can tell Xander still misses Anya..." She stops and eyes Spike, and then changes the focus away from Anya. "But, you know, it's that time of year when we're all waiting for something big to happen. We just smile at each other, deal with our small problems, and try to savor moments before something takes them away. "

Another long pause.

"We're terrible at small talk."

For some reason that causes Buffy to laugh, and it doesn't stop soon, so Spikes helplessly starts to chuckle too. It lasts longer than it should, but it feels good, like a wordless communication. Then it ends awkwardly and they listen to passing cars.

Buffy asks, "You said that you've already tried to ask Angel for help, but he wasn't there. What did you mean?"

"Well, his original place was burnt down. So then I asked around and heard that he moved into a hotel, the Hyperion or Helion, took up the whole place, center of operations and all that. Heh, the poof always needed space." Buffy wonders why she was never told anything about the fire or the move to the hotel. Spike continues, "But I looked around and he wasn't there. Then I'm told no one has seen him for over a month."

Before any panic, Buffy assures herself by saying, "I'm sure he's fine. If something happened, Cordelia would have told me."

"Cordelia? That sounds like someone I've threatened before. Brunette, tall-ish, great body?"

"More or less. Mostly a bitch." Spike senses some jealousy in her answer, but he wasn't sure which vampire it was for. "She was a classmate of mine, remember? She worked for Angel last time I saw him."

"I didn't exactly hang around with his employees. I snooped and left. Yeah, now that we're talking about the last time we saw Angel. He's going to try to stake me on sight."

"Wasn't it that night you kid-napped Willow to make that love potion? Sure, he'll try, but not anymore than usual."

Spike's voice starts to become softer, more hesitant. "After you took the ring of Amara I knew that you'd send it to Angel."

"Oh," She asks herself why she had never considered that. "What did you do?"

He takes his eyes off the road to her for a moment, then back. "I tortu... I hired a professional to torture him." He looks back at her, and she just stares at him stilly, gathering her emotions. "You hate me for that one."

"How bad?", she demands with a hard voice.

"Well, you've seen him since. It's not like he's missing limbs and teeth."

"How bad?"

"Bad, real bad. Hot pokers, lots of 'em."

"God damn it, Spike!" She turns her face away from him and rests her head on the window with a slight thud. He notices her fists clenching till they're white. "I'll be honest right now, I want to beat the hell out of you."

He slows the car and parks it on the side of the road.

He says, "Go ahead. I deserve it."

She just looks him in the eye, and thinks about punching his head through the window.

He goes on, "What? Want to do it outside? Fellow travelers may find it strange."

"Just drive, Spike." She turns away, and focuses on the landscape to her right.

He merges back into traffic.

"I'm sor...", he begins to say, but stops. "Never mind."

She merely looks at his reflection in her window. That was the closest he had come to saying sorry, and it wasn't even for something he'd done to her. "Good. For now, that word means nothing to me from you. Tell it to him."

Again, another long silence.

Then Spike says, "Don't tell Angel about the soul."

She's surprised. "Why?"

"I'm not ready."

"Ready? What is it with you and making a grand entrance for this thing? You know what, fine. But there goes the main reason for him not killing you."

They pass a sign saying they're getting closer to Los Angeles.


	3. Chapter 3

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Dana is in a break room in the harbor. The torn pieces of her hospital gown lay on the floor. She found an checkered flannel shirt and a pair of jeans in a locker. Even with the cloth rolled to the wrists and ankles, she looks like a child that's wearing her father's work clothes.

She sees a can of ground coffee beans on the counter. She remembers that some of her mothers and fathers used it to stay awake. She opens it, and at first thinks, "Brown makes you sleepy". But she trusts her memories, clutches the brown grain and eats it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**[Scene begins the near the end of "Deep Down". The following section in italics is just a slight variation of the script found at a site called Buffy World. The script is prosified, Cordelia is added, dialogue about her missing has been removed, and the descriptions of action are streamlined when thought necessary. When nothing is changed a * will end the sentence. No need for me to embellish this great scene if you've seen it already, and if you haven't, minimize this page and watch it.]**

_Wesley says, "He'll need more blood. I'm fresh out," and walks out of the hotel. On the couch Angel groans. _His skin is covered in cracked sores, the residue of silt drapes him like tattered cloth.

_Fred says, "It's okay. God, he's freezing."_

_Then Gunn, "I'll get some more blankets."_

_Cordelia sits and holds Angel, saying, "Angel? You're going to be ok, you're going to be ok."_

_As Gunn turns to go, he stops at the sound of a chair toppling in the office._

_Fred shouts, "Connor!"_

_Cordelia stays guarding Angel while Gunn and Fred run for the office. Connor is waiting for them and easily tosses Gunn to the side. Fred tries to tazer him, but he grabs it and uses it against her. She screams then falls to the floor. Connor turns only to find Angel standing in the doorway._

_Angel says, "Sit down."_

_Connor backs up a little never taking his eyes off Angel.*_

_Connor replies, "You're too weak to take me."_

_"You really think that?"_

_Connor looks at Angel for another moment, then turns, picks up the chair, slams it down on the floor, and sits facing Angel. Gunn begins to stir and sit up. Angel lowers himself into a chair across from Connor with a slight sigh.*_

_Angel continues, "So, how was your summer? Mine was fun. Saw some fish. Went mad with hunger. Hallucinated a whole bunch."_

_Gunn quietly helps Fred back to her feet. Connor's eyes never leave Angel.*_

_"You deserved worse."_

_"Because I killed Holtz, except I didn't. I tried telling you that while you were busy offshore dumping me, but I didn't know the whole score. Holtz killed himself. Actually, he had your buddy Justine do it with an ice pick. Just to make you hate me."_

_Connor after a beat, "Even if... you still deserved it."_

_"What I deserve is open to debate. But understand there is a difference between wishing vengeance on someone and taking it. So now, the questions becomes: what do you deserve?"_

_Connor suddenly jumps up from his chair and runs for the door, but Angel intercepts him, tossing him against the wall, and calmly says, "Daddy's not finished talking."_

_Angel crouches down next to where Connor sits, scrunched up against the wall.*_

_"Wesley told me everything that's been going on. What you did to me was unbelievable, Connor. But then I got stuck in a hell dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years, so three months under the ocean actually gave me perspective. Kind of a M. C. Esher perspective, but I did get time to think. About us, about the world. Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh, and cruel. But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be. You're not a part of that yet. I hope you will be. " Angel moves closer to his son and says, "I love you, Connor. Now get out of my house."_

_Connor leaves and Angel lets out a slight sigh as he hears the lobby doors close. He sways on his feet then leans against the wall. Cordelia cries, "Angel!", and she, Fred, and Gunn rush over to him. Cordelia offers to help him stand, but he refuses._

_Angel says, "All that talking really takes it out of you."_

Cordelia says, "You need rest."

"I've been in a steel coffin for three months. The last thing I need right now is rest." Angel turns and looks at them with hunger in his eyes, then looks away ashamed.

Gunn ask, "You ok, man?"

Angel quickly staggers past them to the lobby kitchen. The others are uncertain with how to act. Cordelia slowly follows him, while Gunn and Fred watch on.

After Angel enters the kitchen, he opens the refrigerator, takes out a large container of pig's blood, and drinks it in large gulps. His face changes, fangs scrape the lip of the container. Cordelia watches his back from the door with unwanted disgust. It has been three years, and the sight of him drinking blood, even in small sips, still makes her nauseous. But this time she makes it her purpose to watch him. He drains the container, tries to steady himself, then falls over the nearby table top. The empty container rolls off the table to the floor, there's a slight trace of red in the roll. Cordelia rushes to help, place both hand on his back.

A roar erupts from his chest, she can feel the pulse through her hands up her arms. At the same time Angel yells, "Don't touch me!" and Cordelia gives a cry and steps back. He then drops himself on a chair. She first notices that his face has changed and red rims his mouth. She steps back even more.

Yellow eyes look at her and are immediately shaded with guilt. "I'm sorry," he says.

In a shuddering voice she replies, "It's ok. I wasn't thinking."

"No..." He closes his eyes and asks, "C-can you get me the other container, please?"

"Sure."

She retrieves the last container of blood from the refrigerator, uncaps it, then hands it to Angel. He makes it a point to calmly take it from her. However, when he attempts to take only a small sip, his urge overcomes his manners and he swallows the contents in seconds.

After he places the container on the table, Cordelia notices a drop of blood gathers on his chin and then fall on the floor. She goes to the counter top, tears off a sheet of paper towel and hands it to him, then asks, "Is that enough?"

He answers, "For now," even though he is still starving. He takes the paper towel gratefully and begins to wipe the blood off, but stops with a painful wince when he scrubs one of the cracked sores on his face.

Cordelia says, "I'll get the first aid kit." He knows the kit is useless, but doesn't stop her because he wants her to think she can help him in the normal ways, and he wants her close. He has been alone for three months, and he misses her terribly.

She retrieves the kit from a cabinet, sits down in front of him, and opens the kit. She looks at his face and says, "Um, I know I should be used to it by now, but could you change your face back?"

"Sorry, I didn't even notice." Besides being embarrassed over his form and hunger, he feels loss for another moment in an ice rink. Then the feeling is gone. He forces his human face to return.

The sight of his usual face brings tears to Cordelia's eyes. "Angel, I'm so glad you're back. I was scared that I'd never see you again." She wipes a tear trail from her cheek and tries to compose herself.

"I missed you too, Cordy."

"I, uh, I know you probably don't want to hear me spout right now."

"I'd gladly listen to anything you've got to say, as long as it has nothing to do with water."

They share a sincere smile. As she places a bandage on his cheek, he feels the warmth of her fingers, so unlike cold steel and salt water. He reaches up with one hand to hold one of hers. They have a moment of silence, only the eyes talk. Then Angel notices Gunn and Fred at the door way.

He says, "Hey guys, I missed you both too, but can we have a moment."

They respectively say ,"Oh, yeah," and ,"Sorry," then they leave.

Gunn says to Fred, "Hey, I saw that Connor got you with the tazer."

Fred replies, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine."

"Come on, let me have a look at it." He leads her to another room.

Back in the kitchen, Angel looks to Cordelia again. Unable to regain the moment he says, "Hey, you're a brunette again."

And she was, her hair had grown back to the reaches of her neck and it was a deep brown.

Almost reflexively, she places a strand of hair behind her ear, and says with a slight smirk, "Yeah, I liked it at first, but I had to admit that it started looking like my head was made of plastic."

Knowing not to agree but still compliment, he only says, "I like it better this way."

"Thank you."

Assured of some privacy, she hold his hand. He winces as one of her fingers presses the sore on the back of that hand.

She pulls back and says, "Oh God, they're all over you!"

"Yeah, mostly where the steel cables were. It shouldn't take me long to heal though. In a day or two I'll be fine."

"I can't believe that little bastard did this to you."

"Interesting choice of words."

"That son of a bitch then. Angel, what he did was unforgivable. And then he just watched us, no, he "helped" us look for you week after week, acting like he cared."

"I've been through worse." Angel looks at the floor and then confesses, "I've done worse. In someways he was right; I did deserve it."

"What!? Look, I understand you're probably not very lucid right now, but don't you go on a guilt trip. First off, it doesn't matter what he thinks anymore. He left you down there to rot forever. You did not deserve that. Listen to me, hell, listen to yourself. You're a champion, Angel."

He looks back up. "If I'm such a worthy champion, how come the Powers never sent you a vision of where I was?"

She sits back, tears well again. "I don't know, and I asked and prayed for that every day. But all that stuff you said to him."

"I can't let him think that this world has to be like this."

"So, all that stuff about being a champion, do you even believe what you said?"

He pauses. "I don't know. It's... it's not about what I think is true, it's about what needs to be right. Other wise..." He looks away for a moment and says, "Connor isn't ready for that yet. Sometimes, I'm not even sure if I am either."

A long silence follows, then Angel admits, seemingly unrelated, "I thought we could be together, all of us. Happy, I thought we could be happy."

Cordelia hears him say "we" with such sadness that it hurts.

"W-well, maybe some of us still can. Listen, I know this isn't the right time or place. And this is really awkward for me, but, hey, the last time I waited and tried to set the scene I almost lost you."

"I'm sorry if it felt like I stood you up that night. "

"Yeah. I'm not gonna lie, for most of that night and the next I hated you a bit. But that doesn't matter now. I know that you don't have a good history with relationships, but I feel that there's something between us, and there has been for a while. Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong."

"I don't know about you, but I can't ignore it anymore. Hell, I couldn't ignore three months ago, but after this, after I've got you back, I'm not letting this chance go by."

Angel stays silent.

She says, "Well, what do you think about it?"

"Cordy, I do feel something for you, but-"

"But what? That night I talked to you on the phone, sure, it wasn't exactly a sonnet, but there weren't any 'buts'."

"When I was in the ocean, around day three or four, I'm not really sure, the hallucinations started. From hunger, sensory deprivation."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"I kept dreaming and hallucinating about you, us. And Fred, Gunn, Lorne - Connor. As a family."

"That's a good sign, right?"

He looks her in the eye and says flatly, "I killed you. Dozens, hundreds of times. I killed you all every time I forgot I was in a box. But, not right away. Sometimes we would be having dinner, or watching a movie, or even just saying good morning. Sometimes it was just you and me, alone. And then- "

"They were just hallucinations. I understand that you're a vampire, I'm a human, well half-human, now. Angel. you've never hurt me."

"Not yet."

"So, what, are you going to go all rogue again and fire everyone?"

"No. I don't want to hurt you- us."

"What if I'm willing to take that risk?"

"Cordelia." He takes a long pause. "I have feelings for you, deeply. When I was down there, the thought that I would never see you again was horrible. I'm not in the right state of mind to give you an honest answer, yet. I care for you too much to not give you at least that."

She sighs, visible with disappointment, and stands up. "I guess I should be grateful for that gentle rejection." She walks to the door, and says "I'll tell Gunn and Fred they can come in."

Before she exits he says, "Wait. For what it's worth, if we had met at Point Dume that night, I would have said yes."

She turns with a little hope in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"That does help a little."

They both smile. Suddenly, Cordelia jerks her head back and screams as a vision invades her mind. She falls to the floor in throes and shakes.

"Cordy!" Angel's muscles are so weak and stiff that Fred and Gunn reach her before he does.

Gunn reaches down and sits her up. They all crouch around her.

"Cordy. What was it? Tell us what you see."

"Uh, it's a warehouse- at the harbor- There's a girl. There's blood all over her. She's talking, I can't understand her. Now she's fighting someone, a vampire. What? It's Spike."

"Spike?"

Fred asks, "Who's Spike?"

"Cordy, what else?"

"I don't know. Spike he... no the girl... the pain, it doesn't make any sense. The girl, she... " The vision stops and Cordelia opens her eyes. "Sorry, I couldn't make any sense of the rest."

"It's ok, Cordy. You did good." Angel stands painfully.

Gunns says as he helps Cordelia up, "Yeah, we know a vampire is going to try to kill a girl at the harbor. Seems like we know enough to me."

Cordelia replies, "Yeah, you're right. It just felt different. Something wasn't right."

Fred asks again, "Who's Spike?"

"An old friend from Sunnydale. Gunn, do you remember Drusilla?"

"That pale crazy bitch?"

"Yeah, well Spike is her peroxide childe. Last time he was in L.A. he had Angel tortured."

Angel, who has already slowly walked to the weapons cabinet, says, "It's time I repaid him for those hot pokers." He opens it and takes out a light ax.

"Angel, you can barely walk, let alone fight."

Angel, after taking out a cross bow, replies, "Who said anything about fighting? Fred get me your tazer." She nods and goes for it. "Gunn, you drive." Then after a beat, "You guys did get my car back, right?"

Reassured that Angel is showing a semblance of himself from before summer, Gunn grins and says, "Yeah, your car's parked in front. What's this guy fight like."

"Fast and stupid. He's impulsive, and he loves to talk." Fred returns and hands him the tazer, which he pockets. "Good. Fred, Cordy, take the other cross bows. You stay as far away from him as you can. I want him close to me."

Cordelia, still worried, says, "Angel, please stay here for this one. We've been doing this all summer without you. Sure, we suck at it...

"Hey," Gunn interjects.

"But we can handle one vampire."

Angel says, "Cordy, you know Spike isn't a normal vampire. I'm not sending any of you out there unless I'm in front. You can stay or go if you want. This is what we do, remember?"

Cordelia assents and grabs a cross bow. Together they walk towards the front door.

Angel adds, "Also, I haven't hit anything in three months, and I really want to beat the hell out of that little shit."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I just want to thank those people who sent reviews this early in the process. The encouragement helps my pace, I really appreciate that.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Not knowing where she is, Dana climbs a crane to see the world around her. She sees the city and the ocean. Then she jumps into the water, and in the fall she feels at peace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Buffy and Spike park the car in front of the [-] Psychiatric Hospital.

"What are we doing here, again?", Spike asks as they get out of the car.

"I need you to get Dana's scent from something in her room. Also, who knows, we may find a picture of her or something. I don't even know what she looks like."

She leads him to the side of the building blocked off by a twelve foot-tall fence. Spike is curious that Buffy seems familiar with this place.

He says, "I'm guessing we're not using the front door."

"They wouldn't let us anywhere near her room even if it wasn't a crime scene." She roughly estimates the height of the fence and then leaps over it.

She lands, turns around and asks, "Are you coming?"

Spike, a little skeptical, follows with a jump of his own, but he tips the top of the fence and falls over then lands on his side.

Buffy giggles as he groans, and then he says, "It's easy for you, you're lighter and stronger than me."

"Come on, it's this way."

On the side of the building the windows of offices are scaffolded with a fire exit. They jump and reach for the railing of the stairs for the second floor. Once on this they follow it to the roof.

Spike follows Buffy over the top of the wall and lands on the roof. He then asks, "You've been here before, haven't you?"

She stops in her path and turns to him. "Yeah."

"Is this the place you're mum and dad sent you when they thought you were nuts?"

She recalls her time here with much pain, but answers his question with an attempt at nonchalance, "It was only for a couple of weeks. Still, enough time that I tried to escape once."

"What stopped you from getting away?"

"Knowing that if I did, my mom and dad would just think I'm even more crazy. The next day I shut up about vampires. Then I was out in four days."

He understands that it's a vulnerable topic for her, so he doesn't ask anymore questions.

They walk to the door on the roof and find that it's locked. Buffy kicks it open and they descend a flight of stairs to a another door to a hallway on the top floor. Buffy slowly cracks it open, but quickly closes it again when she hears whistling and the sound of small rolling wheels. When it passes, she opens the door again and finds the hallway clear.

When they enter the hallway, Spike whispers, "Do you even know where to look?"

She whispers back, "No. I was on the lower floors and I just followed the stairs when I tried to escape."

"Balls... wait." He sniffs the air. "Oh."

"What is it?"

"Blood. Lots of it. Close, maybe down a floor or two."

Spike slowly follows the scent down stairs and through hallways. They come to a broken chain-linked door that separates the ward from the main hallway. Police tape across the entrance way. They duck under it and keep walking till they get to the ward's intersection. Blood stains cover the floor, skirt the walls and doors , and even speck the high ceiling.

Spike shakes his head slightly.

"Are you ok?", Buffy asks.

"Yeah. It's very strong. It's not just blood, though."

"What else?"

"Spinal fluid."

"Oh god." She surveys the stains with a new comprehension.

He goes on, "She tore them apart. Are you sure this shouldn't be a search and destroy mission?"

"I'm having doubts, I'll be honest about that."

"Well, I'll have no problem tracking the little Pollock."

"Are you sure?"

"Anyone who made this mess got very dirty. I can track her for miles, even in this city."

"Good." They turn and see an open doorway at the end of the hall. In front of it lies a metal door riddles with dents. "I think we found her room."

They walk through the doorway. It's a small, windowless room with a nailed down bed and a light bulb covered in a tiny concave section in the ceiling. The walls are tiled with pictures made with crayons, each depicting a different girl being killed by some kind of monster. Even though they were made with little skill, their total effect shocks Buffy and Spike.

"Bloody hell. What was going on inside this one's head?"

As Buffy gets closer to the pictures on the back wall she understands what they are.

"They're her dreams. Slayer dreams. We dream the deaths of the girls that died before us."

"Right. Whoever customized the set of Slayer powers needs to be slapped upside the head for that one, the sick bastard. Is this what you dream every night?"

"I used to. It was bad during the first year, and the first few months on the Hellmouth brought them to a whole new level. Even then, though, it was never this much. I know a few of these, but most of them are totally new to me."

Spike scans the walls, then one of the pictures at eye level stills his gaze. It depicts a monster with wavy hair eating the neck of a small Chinese woman. A temple of sorts burns around them. He reaches up and pulls it from the wall and looks at it for a moment. He then starts searching the walls for another picture.

Buffy notices his frantic searching and asks, "What are you looking for?"

"Subway, subway, subway."

He finds it on the left wall next to the floor. It shows three figures in a subway car. In the center, a monster with fangs and yellow spiky hair sits on a black woman, her head is twisted backwards in his hands. A crying boy is under one of the seats to the right, he seems to be hiding. Spike falls to his knees in front of the picture, and then pulls it off the wall. He looks at the two pictures in his hands, which tremble slightly.

Buffy stands behind him and says, "It's the slayers you killed."

"I didn't know her kid was there," he says, slightly lifting the drawing with the boy. "You know, it's so meaningless, what I did to them. Sure, I gave you that big lecture when you asked about them. Inner darkness, death wish, and all the rest. Nice words, poetic, a little sexy. They don't mean anything now. I look back and all I see are two tired girls that I murdered 'cause I was bored. Then I left them to rot, and I used the stories to make Dru wet."

"Spike."

"That's all it ever was, too. For all of them. No high reasons or grand schemes. I didn't want power or the end of the world. I wanted to have fun. At least this Dana had a reason to tear those men apart, crazy, but still. Fear, escape. More than I ever had. They were just tired girls."

Buffy places a hand on one of his shoulders as says, "Come on. Let's help _this_ girl, and maybe, somehow..." She stops as the rest would sound more childish than the pictures on the wall.

"Nice words." Spike stands and pockets the pictures.

"Are you going to be, well not ok, but you know what I mean?"

"No. But I'm not going to bash my head on the wall if that's what you're asking." He happens to look over her shoulder to the front of the room. The sight startles him. "Buffy, turn around."

She does, and finds that the doorway is bordered with drawings of her second death. Over a dozen variations of a blond figure jumping off a chaotic tower of straight lines into a swirling mass of color. Buffy walks toward them. Unlike the slayers in the other pictures, the falling girl in these pictures doesn't seem to be in pain, distressed, or afraid. She is always calm, and when the portal is blue it looks like she is diving into water, a fusion of both of Buffy's deaths.

She presses her palm on the one with the blue portal and says, "I never dreamed of the Slayer before me. My dreams were always like from the dark ages or something. I don't know how she died. I don't even know her name."

There is a long silence.

Spike says, "So," and she turns to him as he continues, "she's been in this room for over a year, not knowing what's happening to her. She's been having these nightmares, and she's already crazy, so that's not a good mix. Do you think she might confuse the dreams with the real world?"

"That might explain what she did to the guards."

"Can't wait to find out what she'll want to do to me."

"Oh crap! Do you think she'd recognize you?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Buffy recalls the vividness of her own slayer dreams, how she can still clearly remember the faces of every vampire and demon.

"Yes."

"Well then, you better be watching my back when we find this girl, 'cause I'm not going to be on the offensive with this chip in my head."

"She may be strong," Buffy gestures toward the broken door, "but she's been in a hospital since she was ten, so she probably doesn't know how to fight. You should be able to evade her. You sure you got her scent?"

"Blood, spinal fluid, and crayons."

"Hmm, this season's latest perfume."

They give the room one last look, and Buffy thinks that, in comparison to the others, the dream of her death must have been heaven.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: I find that my descriptions of fight scenes are always unsatisfying, so don't expect much from them.**  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Spike followed Dana's scent to the harbor. They walk between warehouses, zigzagging along crates and forklifts.

Buffy says, "Spike, it'll be dawn in a little less than an hour. Do you think we're even close?"

Still looking around Spike answers, "We'll she didn't turn around, and it's not likely she's swimming to China."

"So, was that a yes? Spike?"

He doesn't reply as something in the air has changed. He sniffs more, amidst sea salt and iron rust he smells the tinge of copper. "Something's different."

"A little elaboration?"

"This way."

He follows the scent of blood a hundred feet or so to a bend around the warehouse. At the turn they find the headless corpse of a security guard.

After absorbing the sight, Buffy says, "This just keeps getting worse."

"Fond of decapitation, isn't she?"

"Great, even if we do find her, there's going to be a man-hunt out for her by tomorrow."

"You got a plan for that?"

"I'm still working on how to deal with the pyscho-queen of hearts right now."

"Then you should know there is a police car coming behind you." Buffy turns around, and indeed there is a police car coming to a stop at an abandoned security post a few hundred feet away.

"When he notices us I'm sure he'll be very interested in what we think of the headless guy."

After looking in the empty booth with a flashlight, the police officer turns to their direction and shouts, "Excuse me, I would like to have a word with you two."

"We'll you're not bullet proof, and I can't fight him."

Buffy says, "We don't have time for this. Let's go."

They turn and sprint in the direction they came from.

"Hey, stop! Freeze!", the cop shouts.

As they run, they hear the cop's shock as he discovers the headless security guard. They make multiple turns between warehouses looking for somewhere to hide. Buffy rushes towards a drainage pipe that she figures both she and Spike could easily climb to the roof to lose the cop. They stop and Buffy proceeds to climb. Before Spike can start climbing, the cop appears around the turn. Realizing the cop is too close for him to start climbing, Spike runs to the left and the cop follows him a fast as he can. Buffy attempts to follow the chase from the roof, but the roof is worn from decades of sea air, rain, and neglect. She walks on a weak spot, her weight causes the section of roof to cave in and she falls thirty feet onto a stack of wooden pallets. Her head slams against the wood with force, cracking it and leaving her unconscious.

Meanwhile, Spike makes a wrong turn and the cop quickly corners him in a warehouse.

With his pistol raised the cop shouts, "Put your hands up!"

Turning around Spike says, "Look mate, you're in way over your head. So, how 'bout you get back in your car, and play with your little siren." He waits for the cop to get closer, so that he might knock the cop out right before enduring a paralyzing shock from the chip.

Steadily inching towards Spike, the officer suddenly jerks with a shout. He turns around, giving Spike a view of a bone saw protruding from his back. He then falls, revealing Dana. She glances at Spike threateningly, then kneels and pulls out the bone saw. The cop moans something, but is silenced when Dana rips and tears at his neck with all her strength with the saw. In seconds the head detaches, then she quickly stands, the motion flinging specks of blood from the saw on to Spike's face. He shudders and wipes the drops off, unused to being so affected by the sight of murder. Hands to wrists gloved in blood, Dana takes a stance and prepares to attack Spike, but then stops. She keeps a defensive distance, and stares at him as she is overtaken by a sense of familiarity. Her face resembles a confused child as she remembers violent deaths that weren't hers, yet ones she suffered still.

Trying to maintain his usual demeanor, he says, "So, you must be Dana. Hi, name's Spike. Me and a friend of mine have been looking for you." Turning his head slightly he yells," Buffy, I found her!"

Slayer and vampire begin to circle each other.

"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help you."

A force within her erupts and she shouts something in a language he recognizes but doesn't understand, and she doesn't fully understand it either. She feels loss, anger, fear, and exhaustion.

Spike is surprised by the flow of words and says, "Sorry, luv. I don't speak Chinese."

His words echo those in her dream and she yells back at him in that foreign tongue.

Remembering the covered walls, Spike asks, "You... you recognize me, don't you? From your dreams."

She's doesn't answer this time, but he looks into her eyes and he is certain. "This is going to sound like bullshit, but that was a long time ago. I'm not the same. I'm here to help."

She swipes the bone saw and he evades.

"Whoa! Put down the bone saw, and let's have a chat. Buffy! Where are you? Listen, I know you've been having those weird dreams."

Dana mutters, "No escaping."

"English, good. That's a start."

"Heart and head. Have to get home. Doesn't hurt if you hold still." It is the mantra of moments after waking, chanting the words that keep her safe.

"Granted, it's nonsense. But hey, I dated a crazy girl for a century. I'm great with nonsense."

"Heart and head. Stab the heart, cut off the head. Only way to be sure." She feels that this is moment of life and death, hers or his, and some part of her revels in it.

"Hey now, I'm here to talk. I can't even fight you, I got this thing in my head goes zap when I hurt someone."

She smiles.

"Probably shouldn't have told you that."

"Keep cutting till you see dust."

She swipes the saw at him twice, and then he kicks the saw out of her hand.

In another warehouse, Buffy regains consciousness slowly. She sits up on the broken level of wood she landed on and tentatively feels her head.

"Ouch, that's gonna leave a bump."

She looks around.

"How do I get out of here?"

Dana continues enraged, while Spike blocks and dodges, avoiding intentionally offensive movements so his chip won't go off. He wonders where she learned how to fight.

"Buf...!"

Dana finally lands a punch to his face.

"Would you stop..."

She punches him again, and his face morphs in anger. Reflexively, he punches her with all his strength. She falls and rolls to the floor, and he clutches his head and yells in pain.

The pain in her face and the monster's true face make the power recede inside her, and she feel like a child again. She whimpers foreign memories, "Please don't. I have to get home to my son... to my Robin."

Dazed from the shock, Spike asks, "Who?" He looks at her on the floor like a scared little girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit so hard..."

He walks closer and she trips him to the ground. They struggle and he comes out on top, holding her wrists to the floor.

"Calm dawn you crazy git!"

She struggles with child-like fear in her eyes.

"Don't hurt me, please. I promise I won't try to escape again."

His yellow eyes flood with guilt. "I'm not going to hurt you."

An arrow pierces through his lower side. He yells and roars at the sudden pain. Dana pushes him off her, rolls away, and then stands.

On his side clutching the arrow he hears, "That's for the first hot poker." Spike looks up and sees Angel flanked by Cordelia, Fred, and Gunn. The women carry cross bows, while Gunn wields his customized axe.

"Angel," Spike says in shock as he stands and painfully pulls the arrow out from his side. He then looks at the others.

"Spike," Angel replies back, and then looks at Dana who returns the gaze with confusion. He sternly says, "Go."

She remains motionless for a few moments, not knowing what is happening, but she is afraid. Turning, she runs for the exit.

Seeing her leave, Spike says, "Don't let her go, you bloody wanker. You don't know what's going on. I'm here with Buffy. There's no time to explain. Get out of my way."

Spike tries to follow, but Cordelia shoots a bolt at him which he dodges, and then catches the next one from Fred. Dana vanishes.

Gunn, knowing that Angel is weak, is the first to charge a Spike. He swings his axe at Spike, who rolls away. Angel then goes after Spike. There is an exchange of blows, mostly against Angel, who is losing. Spike wonders at Angel's weakness and taunts him with, "A little sluggish today, old man?"

Angel smirks, grabs the taser from his pocket and forces the sparking electrodes against Spike's bleeding wound. Spike falls to the floor convulsing in pain, and Angel shocks him again.

"Angel, stop!" Everyone turns to the voice, and finds Buffy rushing from the doorway.

"Buffy?" Angel asks astonished, and Cordelia echoes him soon after.

From the floor, Spike groans, "I told you, ya poof! Where the hell have you been?"

Angel again asks, "Buffy what are you doing here?"

She demands, "Get away from Spike, he's with me."

"Buffy, he killed that cop, and I just stopped him from killing a girl." Buffy looks down and sees the headless cop, then palms her face in frustration.

While getting up, Spike says, "You bloody idiot, that girl you let get away killed the cop! We've been tracking her"

"_We_? What is he talking about? What's going on?"

Dismissively, Buffy says, "We don't have time for this. Spike, which way did she go?"

Spikes points in the direction Dana went, and he and Buffy rush that way, while Angel slowly tires to follow then falters. Cordelia helps him steady.

"Angel, are you ok?" she asks.

"I'm fine," he answers then continues on.

Gunn whispers Fred, "This is the slayer?", to which Fred just shrugs her shoulders.

Buffy stops at the exit when she sees lights from numerous police cars. Retreating, she explains, "Shit. It's the police, lots of them. That one must have radioed for help. Shit. shit. shit."

Spike adds, "And the sun's almost up."

Angel says, "I can help, but you have to tell me what's going on."

"After, promise," says Buffy.

"There's a manhole close by. We can use the sewers to pass right underneath them."

"Good, show us the way."

They all quickly exit the warehouse to a near-by manhole, and then one by one they descend. Angel is the last down and as he replaces the cover the tunnel goes dark.

Fred says, "Anyone got a light?"

Spike takes a lighter from his pocket, and they are all surrounded by a small halo of light.

Angel steps down from the ladder and says, "Give me the lighter." After he has it he continues, "Everyone, this way. Spike you're in front, I want you in my sight."

Buffy says, "Angel, stop it."

"Why are you being so protective of him?"

"You don't have to worry about him." Buffy and Spike look at each other, and she remembers her promise to keep his soul a secret. "He has this chip in his head that electrocutes him if he hurts a human?"

"A what?"

"Exactly what I said. If he tries to hurt a human a computer chip in his brain electrocutes him."

Everyone looks skeptical.

Gunn interjects, "But we just fought him."

"I only hit the walking forehead over here," says Spike as he points to Angel.

Cordelia asks, "So, you're saying that if you even pinched me right now, you'd get zapped?"

"I'd like to do more than pinch you." Corelia slaps him. "Hey, it was a compliment!"

Angel, "I don't believe this."

"What, you want a demonstration? Here." He reaches and pulls Fred's hair.

"Ouch," she yelps and then Spike bends over clutching his head, trying to suppress a scream. Gunn kicks him in the face, dropping him to the floor.

On the ground Spike shouts, "Would everyone stop hitting me! I've already been shot with arrows, tasered, and attacked by a pyscho with a bone saw."

Angel starts laughing out loud and leans against the wall.

"Yeah, yeah. gives us giggle. Heard it all before", says Spike as he gets to his feet.

"I'm sorry, sorry. Actually, no I'm not." He laughs some more, a little louder, then asks, "W-when did this happen?"

Buffy answers, "The year after you left. You remember Riley? He's was a part of some government organization that was experimenting with demons. They caught Spike, and now he's harmless."

"Haha! Well, I hate that guy a little less now."

Fred speaks up, "You said you were looking for that girl. What's the story? Cordelia had a vision that he was attacking her, so we came to save her."

Buffy asks, "Cordelia has visions?"

Cordelia replies, "Long story. Yours first."

"Her name's Dana. She's a slayer. When I died the second time, she was called. Thing is, she's crazy, been in a asylum for fourteen years. What we think happened is that last year she started having slayer dreams and..."

Gunn interrupts, "Say what?"

"Slayer dreams. We have dreams of the deaths of other slayers. She starts having them, but she can't tell the difference between the dreams and reality. Over a year of this goes by, then she escapes, killing two guards in the process."

Fred asks, "So she's running around thinking this is one of her death dreams?"

"I'm thinking it's the other way around."

"Oh god."

In a stern voice, Angel asks, "Why didn't you call me?"

Buffy answers, "We just got here. Besides, why? Are you going to start barking at me to get out of your town again?"

Breaking eye contact, dejected, Angel replies, "No. Come on, lets go. The sun's risen by now, so there's no point in tracking this girl now if you're using Spike."

Before they move Gunn says, "Chip or not, I'm not walking with this guy behind my back."

"Me either," adds Cordelia.

Too hurt to argue, Spike says, "Fine then. Follow the leader."

They all begin to walk through the tunnel. After a few seconds, Angel loses his balance and rests against the wall. Buffy stops to help him, and for the first time she notices the healing traces of sores on his face, and as she touches him, she feels how little strength is in his body.

"Angel, are you alright? What happened to you?"

"I had a rough summer."

The others, especially Cordelia and Spike, watch on.


	6. Chapter 6

[Author's note: I can't find Dana's last name, not in the script, not in any Buffywiki. If anyone else knows, please write it in the review or email it to me, and I'll edit this chapter.]  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
They climb out of the sewers to the basement of the Hyperion.

Buffy looks around and asks, "Where are we?"

"The basement of the hotel," answers Angel as he walks to a wooden chest, opens it, and grabs a very thick pair of manacles. He returns, looks at Spike and says "You're not setting a foot upstairs, Spike."

Spike replies sarcastically, "What an exemplary host!"

Buffy says, "Angel, that isn't necessary."

"My house, my rules." Angel then gestures to one of the support beams of the basement and commands, "Get next to that column."

Spike retorts, "Scared I'll steal your hair gel?", and surprisingly moves to the support beam and leans his back against it.

"You're unusually compliant?"

"Yeah, well, I've become accustomed to basements lately." Spike gives Buffy a look.

Angel moves behind Spike and roughly locks the manacles around the younger vampire's wrists, securing him to the support beam.

Angel then comes back in front of Spike, stares in his eyes and warns, "You stay away from my people. If I see you upstairs, I will kill you."

"Got the message."

Angel moves away for the stairs saying, "Come on guys." His friends follow, but Buffy stays. Angel asks, "Buffy, you coming?"

Needing to talk to Spike alone, Buffy says, "Give me a minute." She looks at Spike and sees that the lower half of his shirt is stained with blood and asks, "Can you get me a first aid kit?" Angel and his friends give her a confused look. "You shot him with an arrow, remember?"

Angel sighs, "Sure," then he and his friends leave the basement.

Turning to Spike as he sits on the floor, she asks, "Do you want me to help you out of those, so you can go to a hotel or something?"

He looks up surprised and says, "Thanks, but no. I'll stay." Then he lowers his gaze to the floor. There is a long pause and she looks down at him in silence, wondering why his attitude has shifted so drastically. She then realizes that he had been wearing a mask around Angel. He reaches into his pocket and takes out Dana's drawings of him murdering her predecessors.

"Dana got to you, didn't she?"

"She talked to me in their voices."

"The slayer's?"

"Yeah. She's real nuts."

"What did she say?"

"The first I couldn't understand. Chinese. The other voice begged to live because she had a child." He pauses in thought, with an undertone of guilt. "Though, I remember she didn't beg. She went out strong. By the way, the girl can fight. She aint an amateur."

"How?"

"I don't know. Kept muttering how to kill vampires, too. Maybe the janitor taught her."

"Crap! What did she..."

From the stairs, Fred voice interrupts, "Uh, here's the first aid kit."

Spike pockets the pictures.

"Thanks," Buffy says as she is handed the kit and then starts administering the bandage as Spike holds up the section of his shirt.

Spike makes eye contact with Fred and with sincerity says, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replies with awkward hesitation.

"What's your name, luv?"

"Fred."

"Fred. What's that short for, Winifred?"

"Yeah."

There is a silent pause.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry for pulling your hair."

"It's ok. Um, bye." Fred then quickly ascends the stairs.

"Bye, now." Then after the door closes, "Heh. She's cute." Buffy gives him a look. "What? Jealous?" To that, Buffy presses hard on the arrow wound. "Ouch!"

"Done"

"Thanks."

She stands.

"There's something else about Dana," he says, "Besides the voices. Sometimes she seemed like a scared little girl, she was terrified of me, but when... you should have seen her face when she killed that cop. Wasn't human."

"Well, she's human, and it's that scared little girl we're going to help."

"Let's hope," he says without hope.

Not wanting to discuss that possibility, Buffy asks, "Listen, do you still want me to keep your soul a secret?"

He steadies his eyes to hers and says, "Yes."

"This is ridiculous. He can help you!"

"He can't even help himself. You saw him, he looks like he's been through a gauntlet."

"You know I'm going to have to defend you upstairs, and it's like you're tying one hand behind my back."

"Don't tell him. Please."

"Why?"

He looks away and doesn't answer.

Defeated, she says, "I'm going upstairs. Are you going to be ok?"

"I don't know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Upstairs the sun lights the windows and the front of the lobby.

Cordelia asks, "What the hell is going on with Buffy?"

"I don't know," replies Angel as he sits on the couch, exhausted.

Gunn asks, "So, is this a normal thing with her? Vampires, I mean. I know that she was with you a few years back, and now she with this Spike?"

"She isn't dating him."

Cordelia adds, "I don't know, wouldn't put it past her. You saw how she was so protective over him."

"She isn't dating Spike!"

Out of place, Fred says, "I'll get the first aid kit."

Gunn asks, "Are you sure?"

Angel says, "Don't worry Gunn, Buffy wouldn't let anything happen to her."

Fred goes for the first-aid kit, then Gunn says to Cordelia., "So, about you vision, how did you miss a super strength psycho killing a cop?"

"Hey, give me a break!" she answers, "Blame the damn Powers for not giving me Cliff Notes. They're not like movies in my head. I felt this large jolt of pain that blurred everything. Didn't make any sense."

Angel suggests, "You think it was Spike's chip?"

"I guess. That does make sense."

Gunn asks, "Why would the Powers send us to save a vampire?"

"Maybe it was the cop, and we were too late."

Then Angel, "Was the cop in you vision at all?"

"No"

"Heh, so they let me rot under the ocean, but they sent us to save Spike."

Fred returns from the basement.

Angel asks Fred, "What's Buffy doing?"

"She's bandaging Spike," she answers.

Totally bewildered, Angel says, "Maybe I'm still in the coffin and this is all an hallucination."

Then Gunn says, "Speaking of which, I know our plate's full right now, but what are we going to do about Connor?"

"I wouldn't worry about him for now, he can take care of himself."

"It's not exactly his well-being I'm worried about."

"He won't hurt anybody, at least not humans. Listen guys, don't mention Connor around Buffy."

Cordelia says, "Oh my god! Your never told her?"

"She always has enough problems of her own to have to worry about ours."

Then Buffy enters from the basement.

Angel looks at his friends for silence about Connor.

Buffy gets her first look at the hotel lobby and exclaims, "Whoa! I heard this place was big, but I had still expected some dirty motel, not four stars and style."

Cordelia, explains, "But you should see the rooms, most of them are trashed."

Angel says, "So, about Dana. We'd like to help but we need more background."

Buffy replies, "I can't give you her biography, but ask away."

"What's her last name?"

"Coleridge."

"Do you know why she's... what happened to her to make her insane?"

"When she was ten her parents were killed and the murderer kidnapped her. Few months later she was found in the street in a catatonic state. I don't know the details, or much else beside that."

"So, you basically just rushed to L.A.?"

"There wasn't anytime for research."

"Anything else?"

"About her slayer dreams. We snuck into her room at the hospital. The walls were covered in drawings of her dreams. More than I ever had, much more. And Spike said Dana recognized him from her dreams."

Fred asks, "Why would she recognize him?"

Angel answers her, "Spike killed two slayers."

Cordelia asks, "Why aren't we staking him again?"

Needing to change topics, Buffy adds, "Anyway, he said she talked to him in their voices. Even spoke Chinese."

Gunn asks, "Can you do that?"

"No. Also, even though she's been in a hospital since she was ten, Spike said she knows how to fight."

Angel asks, "Do you think she's learning from her dreams?"

"Maybe, but I don't know how if hers are anything like mine. They're mostly like nightmares, you're too scared to run, let alone fight."

"Is that all you got?"

"Yep, drained."

"Alright," Angel looks to his friends, "do you guys need a rest, or can you work for a couple more hours?"

Gunn and Fred say "I'm good." and "Me, too."

Then Cordelia says, "I need to wash off the stench of sewer, but I'll be good for a few more hours."

Angel says, "Good. Fred, go to the library, check the archives for anything about a Coleridge family around 14 years ago. Cordy and Gunn, I want you to go back to the habor, try to find what you can, if the police are on to Dana, if they're looking for us. Also, try to get back my car."

Buffy says to Gunn and Cordelia, "I'll go with you guys."

"No, they can handle themselves." With hidden effort, Angel stands looks down at her, and demands, "You and me need to talk."

"What? Angel, we don't have time for this."

"I'd say you bringing a mass murderer to my city deserves some discussion. Guys, go."

Cordelia begins to say, "Angel..."

"Not now Cordy." The strict interruption silences Cordelia. She leaves with Gunn and Fred, feeling hurt, a little discarded.

Buffy continues, "Are you serious? Angel, you saw him, he's harmless."

"You think you're safe around him because he can't hit you?"

A pause, then she confesses, "He can hit me."

"So, he can hurt slayers?"

"No, he hasn't always been able to. After Willow resurrected me, something about me was different. I don't know, it's all sciency. Point is he can hit me."

"And you're still feel safe around him?"

"He's been helping me for over two years. I'm not saying he's been a saint, but he's never been a threat since." There's the slightest pause in her voice as she remembers the night Spike tried to rape her.

"Oh, so he's on a leash for a couple of years and you think know him. I knew him for twenty years, Buffy!"

"Yeah, and that was a hundred years ago. He's changed."

"Changed! Three years ago he had me tortured!"

She lowers her voice and breaks eye contact. "He told me about that. And I'm sorry, I should have warned you that he would be coming after the ring."

"I'm not blaming you for that."

"Listen, he's helped me more times than I can count. I don't know about me, but I do know that Dawn would be dead if it wasn't for Spike. Again, I'm not saying he's a saint, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt."

"He doesn't have a soul. What would you think if I didn't have a soul and my friends were talking like you?"

Cornered by that question, as a last resort Buffy asks, "Do you trust me?"

"That's not fair."

"Hey! Remember I found you holding my mother as she was bleeding from the neck, and you told me you didn't bite her. I trusted you then, trust me now."

"You're asking me to risk my friends."

"I'm not asking you anything I haven't already asked of myself and my friends. I'll take full responsibility for him."

"I can't believe this." Angel turns and walks away from her. He then says, "I'm still not letting him up here."

Relieved, Buffy says, "I understand. Thank you."

"I need to sit down again. Also need to get new clothes. These reek of salt water."

He sits on the circular couch and takes off his jacket.

Reminded of how unusually weak he is, Buffy says, "Angel, tell me what happened to you. I've seen you bad, worse even, but not like this. You're exhausted, you look starved. Have you been on a hunger strike or something?"

"No." Angel becomes somber. "Someone... I was locked in a steel box and dropped in the ocean. Wesely fished me out last night a few hours before you got here. I was down there for three months."

"Oh my god." She's stunned motionless.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

She erupts. "Don't tell me you're fine! You think I don't know what happens to you if you don't eat? Jesus, three months!"

"I'm not going to lie, it was bad."

"Who did it?"

"The person who did it is taken care of."

"W-what are you doing walking around? Why where you out there?"

"I can't rest, not yet."

"Have you ate?"

"I drank everything I had. Buffy, please calm down."

Buffy begins to pace back and forth.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I don't know."

"So, your friends think that you missing for three months is not my concern? What the hell! I thought Cordelia would at least have the decency to call me! Guess that required too many brain cells."

"Stop it. Don't blame them."

"Oh, I'm blaming them! And what, was Wesely too busy being useless? Wouldn't you blame my friends if they didn't tell you I was missing?"

"Well, it's not exactly the same, but remember none of your friends told me they were trying to resurrect you, and when they did, I only found out a week later. So yeah, I was missing for three months and you didn't know. You were alive for seven days, and for seven days I thought you were still dead. Do you know how much I want to resent your friends for that week? But I don't. I try not to anyway."

She has stopped pacing and feels partly responsible for those seven days.

"I'm sorry. It's just... three months... I need ... I need to know... I."

Angel pats the space next to him and says, "Come, sit with me."

She does, and hides her face in her hand, and confesses, "I know we're not part of each other's lives anymore, I know that. But that doesn't mean I don't care when you're hurt or need help. I don't ever want to be that apart, no matter how much we're not good for each other."

"Me too."

"Promise me you'll call me if you need my help. It doesn't matter what's happening in Sunnydale, I'll come. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"Good. I promise too."

There's a moment of silence, which Angel breaks.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask. When you were fighting Glory, why didn't you ask for my help?"

"I should have. I needed it. But you have to understand that I wasn't being stubborn. Some part of me was certain that I was going to lose Dawn, and I couldn't risk losing you too. Even though we're not together, just knowing you're here, safe, it helps. It makes the world a little better, you know?"

"I know." He holds one of her hands. "I know."

"Sorry, I'm getting all confession-y. You don't want to hear me babble."

"I love to hear you babble."

She smiles at him.

"How are you feeling now? Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine." In truth, he's starving.

"Do you want to rest?"

"I can't sleep." He doesn't want to be alone, nor to dream.

"So, what do we do now? Just wait for your friends?"

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"No. Actually, I was waiting to ask if I can stay here."

"Sure." Angel then slowly stands and continues, "Follow me. I'll try to find a room that's furnished."

As they make their way to the stairs, Buffy places her hand on Angel's back to steady him.  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	7. Chapter 7

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
In an abandoned loft, Connor drags an old mattress over the dust covered floor. He lets it fall and a haze of dust floods the morning light coming from dirty windows. Then he sits on the mattress and rummages through a nearby pile of junk food he stole from a vending machine.

After eating he falls asleep, his mind hopelessly racing from its troubles.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
In Gunn's truck, Gunn and Cordelia begin to talk about Buffy.

"I have to admit, that when I heard about the Slayer, that wasn't what I was expecting."

Cordelia sighs and says, "Yeah, that's what everyone thinks."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm worried. You have to understand that when Angel is with Buffy, bad things happen."

"Like what?"

"For starters, Angel losing his soul."

"What?"

"You know the clause in the curse. Buffy was the one who gave him a happy five years ago. They hump and Angel goes 'grrr'"

"But you don't think they're going at it right now?"

"No. I was just telling you the worst that could happen between them."

"Oh. So, what else can happen?"

"Well, sometimes they fight even when Angel does have a soul. But over the last few years, they just talk and leave each other scarred in the inside. Every time they see each other, afterwards Angel broods for days, even weeks."

"I remember how he was after he saw Buffy when she came back to life. He was good at hiding it, but you could tell there was something behind his eyes. Did he ever tell you what happened when they met?"

"No."

"Man, I don't know how he did it, stayed away from her I mean. After he went to, what was it, Sri Lanka for three months, just to cope with her death."

"Probably because he was so focused on Connor a few weeks later."

"Yeah. What do think about him not telling her about Connor?"

"I don't know." She adds a moment later, "Then again, it's none of her damn business! She's not part of his life any more."

"Do you not want to talk about this anymore?"

"Please."

They remain silent for a few more minutes until they reach the entrance to the harbor. Cordelia and Gunn exit the truck and join a large group of people huddled against police tape and barricades. Police officers are everywhere.

Gunn gets a man's attention and asks, "Hey, what happened?"

The man answers, "Someone killed a cop. Fucking decapitated the guy!"

Gunn and Cordelia act surprised, then Cordelia asks, "Do they have any idea who did it?"

"Lady, how the hell am I supposed to know, am I wearing a badge? All I know is the cops are going to crack down on everybody. You don't kill cops, not unless you want them to go all fascist on yer ass. "

Cordelia and Gunn share a worried look.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
In the public library, after finding nothing on the computer, Fred sits in front of the microfilm projector, looking over newspapers from 1988. Behind displayed print reflecting off her glasses, her eyes move back and forth over dozens of article headlines in a few seconds. She finally finds the article she has been looking for, then cups her mouth and mutters, "Oh my god."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Buffy and Angel walk down one of hotel's hallways, and stop at a room numbered 308.

Angel says, "Now, I'm sure this one at least has a bed."

He begins to open the door, but quickly shuts it when the widening crack shines with sunlight.

He turns to her and says, "Maybe you should go first."

Angel gets out of the way and leans against the adjacent wall as Buffy opens the door and enters the room. He stares at the opposite wall and imagines her in a space of pure light, but in reality it is just a dusty room like all the rest. She regrets that she has to leave him in the dark, knowing the symbolism of the gesture is a lie.

As she explores the room, Buffy calls back, "Wow, this place is the size of an apartment."

"Third floor is where the suites are."

"Ah, so you been holding out on me! Sorry, there's no curtains. You're right, this one does have a bed. No sheets though."

"I'm sure I can find you some."

A few moments pass, and he hears the sound of running water.

"Good, the water runs hot." She returns to the lit doorway, haloed in his eyes. "Well, it's a little dusty and bare. But it'll do. I really need to take a shower. Will you be ok?"

"I'll be fine. What about you?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Well, the last time you had to deal with a rogue slayer it was rough, to say the least."

"This isn't like 're not even sure if Dana knows what she's doing."

"Whether she does or not, I just want to make sure this isn't... troubling you."

"You mean on a kind of personal level?

"Yes."

"Well, I haven't even met her yet, so, honestly, I don't know."

Buffy almost tells Angel about the drawings of her death in Dana's room, but she decides not to for some reason she's doesn't understand.

"Ok."

"Ok."

They stare at each other's eyes, lost in one of those moments which they've only shared with the other. Then the shadow of the past stalks them and they can both feel it, so they try to preserve a few seconds of innocence.

Angel is the first to break their gaze and says, "Uh, I need to go that way," and points towards the way they came from.

Still lost in the residue of the moment, she mumbles "Uh huh."

"You're blocking it with sunlight."

"Oh, heh, sorry."

Buffy fully steps into the hallway and closes the door, and then Angel passes. She notices they're acting like they did in the naïve years, and as much as she treasures them, she knows the time since must be faced.

She calls out, "Angel."

"Yeah?"

A deep pause. "About the last time we met, at that place in between."

Angel closes his eyes and bows his head.

She continues, "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to talk about it, we've already had our confession time today. We've been acting like it never happened, or at least not like it did. We're acting like we usually do when we haven't seen each other for a while. Which I get. And I'm not saying I don't like it this way. But it did happen."

Silence.

She asks, "Do you resent me for it?"

He doesn't answer.

"I would understand if you did, but I want you to know that I'm better now. And I want to thank you for..."

"Don't. I don't want to be thanked."

Angel turns and walks down the hall, leaving Buffy in the darkened hallway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Minutes later, Buffy stands naked in the bathroom, waiting for the shower water to warm. She hugs herself against the chill, and her finger tips trace lines long healed and gone on her shoulder blades. She turns to the mirror, bends her neck to one side, and pulls her hair back revealing the faded scar.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
In the basement, Spike hears the door open and looks to see Angel enter and descend the stairs.

Spike stands and greets him with, "Ah, I was wondering when I'd get a visit."

"Getting lonely, Spike?"

"What can I say, I'm an extrovert. Though, I'd prefer someone besides you. But I have to admit that if I always had to deal with your face for company, I'd learn the value of a good solitary brood too. Really, I sympathize."

"As much as I'd love some witty banter," Angel pulls out a taser from his pocket and quickly jabs the sparking electrodes at Spike's shoulder and he shouts in pain as his body jerks against the column. "How about instead I ask questions, you answer them, and if you don't I electrocute you."

After he collapsed to the floor, Spike shouts, "You didn't even ask a damn question!"

"I was just checking the batteries." After a moment of silence, Angel adds, "What, you're not going to yell for your body guard? Good." He then walks away, grabs a near-by crate, pulls it next to Spike, and sits on it. "So, you've been helping Buffy for the last two years?"

Spike replies grudgingly, "Here and there. Nothing constant."

"Why?"

"Don't suppose you believe that I'm doing the good fight for the good reasons."

Angel makes the taser spark.

Spike says, "Hey, hey, now! Just feeling my way around the options."

"No options. Why?"

"Money. With this chip in my head I have to buy my blood, and other necessities."

"There are easier ways to make money than helping a slayer. Less embarrassing, too."

"Look who's talking. Ok, the first few times I helped her were either to give her a reason not to kill me or to get at the wankers who put the chip in my head. In a small town deeds like that will give a vampire a bad reputation real quick. When that happened it was an advantage to be in the Slayer's back pocket."

"So, if you were so worried about other demons in Sunnydale, why didn't you just leave, especially after Buffy died."

Spike looks away, smiling, knowing that his story doesn't add up. For some reason he lets it slip and says, "Made a promise."

"What do you mean?"

He returns his gaze to Angel's and confesses, "I promised I'd look after Dawn."

Angel shocks Spike again, who steadies himself after the pain and shakes have faded and continues, "Right before the last fight with Glory, the fight you weren't there for, I promised Buffy that I'd protect Dawn."

Angel shocks him again.

Spike ends his scream with a laugh and says, "That's right, keep shocking until you hear the lie you want me to say. Which is what, exactly? That I've been waiting these two years for her to slip, then I'll make my move? Bloody hell, I could have got a gun and shot her dead a dozen times over if that was my plan."

"Who are you trying to fool pretending that you actually care about her or her friends?"

"Well, maybe I do. The truth is in the deeds, mate. I've risked my life with her when I could have skipped town. So yeah, I'm not going to lie, I've grown fond of the Slayer. She did right my way, relatively speaking, so I returned the favor."

Angel chuckles slightly and says, "What is this, Spike? You want me to believe, me, that some army boys put a shock collar on you, and then of all of a sudden you have a semblance of a conscience."

Because of some deep resentment, maybe from the fact that Angel couldn't tell that he is different even though he doesn't want him to, Spike says, "Ok, I admit it, unlike you, I don't have the fetish for pure evil all the time. We can't all be perfect." Angel glares at him with anger and confusion, and Spike adds, "Oh, what, can't figure out the suspect's motive? Here let me help you pull your head out of your ass. I'm not like you!"

"No, you're not. You're a pathetic adrenalin junky, and since you've been neutered you help Buffy so you can get your fix."

"Adrenalin junky, ha! You hate it, don't you, that I was there for her when you weren't, even souless? When her mom died, when Glory went after Dawn, when she was picking the out splinters from punching out of her coffin, I was there. And where were you? In this fancy hotel playing detective."

They are silent, and then Angel utters a fragment, "You're in...", but doesn't finish it.

"I'm in what?"

They stare at each other's eyes, and then Spike realizes that Angel is beginning to sense what he feels for Buffy.

Cordelia's voice sounds from upstairs, "Angel!"

Angel's gaze turns to the door then comes back to Spike. Reluctantly, he leaves the basement.

Spike sits on the floor, relieved of his mask, confused with his feelings, and waits for the imminent voices from the past.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Cordelia sees Angel approach from the basement door. He is visibly distressed by something, so she asks, "Angel, is something wrong?"

Trying to repress his worries about Buffy, and about Buffy and Spike, he replies, "What? No, everything is fine. What did you guys find out?"

Guun answers, "The cops are out for vengeance."

Cordelia adds, "I know this is going to sound bad, but it wouldn't be the worst move if we just let this one go. The girl killed a cop. We shouldn't want to get involved with this."

From the stairs they hear Buffy's voice comment, "No one is forcing you."

They all look up at Buffy descending the stairs, Angel most intensely, and she can feel it, but she knows that now is not the time to deal with their issues.

Gunn says to Buffy, "Listen, I don't know how they are in Sunnydale, but in this city, if you kill a cop, not to mention decapitate him, expect hundreds of them to hunt you down. I don't like it, but Cordy has a point."

She dismissively says, "Thanks for the tip," and then in a more serious tone asks, "So, do you know if they have a trace on her?"

Relenting, Gunn replies, "Alright. So, we listened to some of the cops being interviewed by reporters, and from how vague their answers were it didn't sound like they know much, yet. But from what I remember, Dana didn't exactly kill that cop with finesse, so they'll probably have a suspect soon, if they don't have one already."

Buffy sighs and says, "Ok, how do we find her in a way that doesn't involve waiting for sun set, so Angel or Spike can track her?"

No one gives an immediate answer.

Cordelia looks to Angel, sees that he seems to be deep in thought, and asks, "Angel, have any ideas?"

Everyone looks to Angel, who looks up and only says, "Wh-, no."

Still eyeing Angel, Gunn says, "Maybe we could scope out the quiet areas near the harbor. Any place that a scared girl trying to hide might run to."

Buffy says, "It's better than just waiting here. Angel, since you're staying here, do you think you could find Wesely and do some kind of locator spell?"

Gunn and Cordelia anxiously look at Angel who calmly says, "Wesely doesn't work here anymore."

"Really? But I thought you said Wesely was the one who fished you out of the ocean."

"He did, but that was just a one-time favor. We've parted ways."

"Why?"

"It's a long story, and you don't want to waste time."

"Oh." Buffy saw the looks on Gunn's and Cordelia's faces, and realizes that she has intruded into their private affairs.

Cordelia says, "There's still some of Wesely's books in the office. There might be a spell book we can use."

Wanting to end the awkwardness as soon as possible, Buffy says, "Good," then turns to Gunn and asks, "Gunn, right?"

He says, "Yeah."

"Well, lets go."

"Phew, this is a long day."

Buffy and Gunn leave the hotel.

Angel walks towards the lobby office, and begins looking through the remaining books that Wesely left.

Cordelia follows and asks, "Angel, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"How did you talk with Buffy go?"

"It went fine. We came to an agreement about Spike."

"Which was?"

"I don't kill him."

"Well, that rock solid contract makes me feel so safe."

"Could we not talk about Spike right now?"

"Sure." She starts to looking through the books as well.

"Thank you. By the way, I let Buffy take a room on the third floor for now, room 308."

"Oh, are you expecting her to stay long?"

"I don't know how long she'll need to stay, but she'll need a bed for at least a night or two."

"Right, just as long as she's not customizing wall paper."

He closes a book and says, "Look, I know you and Buffy had some feuds back in Sunnydale, but could you please stop the high school drama before it starts."

"Feuds? What, would she whine at you about me after school?"

"Forget I said anything."

"Later, I have to say this , I'll admit it, I don't want her here, but it's not because of me, Angel. For the last three years, every time you've seen her, it's left you a wreck."

"It's not like she's here on a social call."

"It's not like she ever is anyway, but the effect is still the same. We have our own problems, and we don't need hers."

"So, you want me to tell her to go home, and we'll take care of Dana?"

"No, what I'm saying is..."

"Anyone here?"

Cordelia stops as they hear Fred enter the lobby, and then they move to meet her.

Cordelia says, "Hey, Fred. Did you find anything?"

"Oh yes. Does anyone remember a man named Walter Kindel?"

Neither Cordelia or Angel answer, then Fred starts reading from her notes.

"June 3rd, 1988, The Coleridges were found stabbed to death in their home and their daughter was missing. But they weren't the first ones. Between '86 and '87, three other families had been murdered the same way, all with a young daughter missing. Except with those other families the girls were never found. In September, when Dana was found wandering the streets, the police tried to question her, but she was completely unresponsive."

Cordelia asks, "But, Walter Kindel, he's the guy who did it?"

"Yeah, but the cops never found him till it was too late. Seems like after Dana was found he layed low until four years ago. He tried to rob a liquor store and was shot dead. His, umm, DNA matched with what was found inside Dana."

"Oh god, that poor little girl."

Angel asks, "Did you find anything else, Fred?"

Fred replies, "Yeah, I found the Coleridge's address. It's in the suburbs on a Border avenue."

"Good. Ok, now we know a few more specifics."

"And who knows, maybe it'll calm her down to know this Kindel guy is dead."

"Maybe", Angel replies doubtfully, then, "Fred, you're familiar with the books Wesely left, aren't you?"

"A little."

"Cause we're trying to find a locator spell for Dana, but we don't know were to look."

"Hmm, I don't know if he left any spell books. Mostly reference. I'll take a look."

Fred and Angel make their way towards the office, while Cordelia remains and then staggers.

She exclaims, "Crap, we don't have time for this," and then falls to the floor screaming through a vision.

"Cordy!", Angel and Fred both shout as they rush back to her, then raise her off the floor to the couch as she continues to shake.

When the tremors cease Angel asks, "Cordy, what did you see?"

She opens her eyes, revealing a terror in them, and answers, "It's Connor, Dana's trying to kill Connor!"  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


End file.
